Month: May 2016

Ok, So an Onion isn’t categorized as a spice, but it definitely adds flavour!

I love Onions.

I use Onions in all my savoury dishes. Soups, stir fry, salads, none are complete without my trustee Onion.

What I don’t love?Is cutting onions!

My eyes swell, the ducts fill up and all at once the tears flow out! No matter how many tricks and tips I’ve Google’d to find a perfect no cry method for cutting an onion, end result is – me sobbing away.

Israel is seeing its fair share of tears at the moment.

Last week was “Yom Hashaoh”where we remember and honor the memory of the Holocaust and remind ourselves and teach our children that never again will we allow the horrors to be repeated!

Today is “Yom Hazikaron” where we remember and honour the fallen soldiers and civilians lost in the fight to protect this great country.

The siren begins… 2 minutes, 2 minutes feel like a lifetime when you think about everything that others have endured… The tears of the onion don’t seem severe when you think of lives lost, parents loosing their children, future battles that always lurk…

Israel is hard, life in Israel is no vacation, but the things we are experiencing here every day make this place worth the hardships; despite everyone, their differences, their political views, religious beliefs and petty mundane every day complaints; on these two days all Israeli’s throughout Israel stand together and give their respect to honour the past. I look at my kids and realise that they will one day be proudly wearing their army uniforms and fighting the fight to survive.

Tonight the tears completely wash away and we get filled with giddy happiness and laughter, celebration of life! Independence is what we have gained and achieved, the sorrows of the past have led us to this, our incredible “Yom Haatzmaut” – Israel, an Independent state!

Conclusion – A onion has many layers, my once cut onion might have created many tears, but now the delights of the meal are felt and we all share in the deliciousness that has been created together. May the dreams we all dream be the future we find and may each day be a celebration of life.

So I don’t eat Cinnamon. Yes it tastes great when added to sugar on a pancake! But; I don’t eat it. (As you may recall I also don’t eat sugar, so there goes that plan!) Not only do I not eat cinnamon, I convinced myself that I was allergic to it. Ha! For years people would hand over the offering of a cinnamon bun or milk tart with cinnamon sprinkled on top and I pierce my lips closed as though they had been glued shut. Recently something changed, either my taste buds matured or my brain gave up thinking that Cinnamon was some evil spice. Over Pesach my sister made “Charoset”it is a paste made up of:

Pecans

Walnuts

Apples, peeled and cored

Ground cinnamon

Medjool dates pitted

Sweet wine

Honey or Silan

My sister also made a cinnamon free version for me, it was ok… but my curiosity took over and I simply could not control myself. I shoved a huge spoonful of the cinnamon added Charoset into my mouth, YUMMYYYYYYY!

Cinnamon is supposed to be calming, relaxing and rejuvenate the body. If I had to describe Kefar Saba to you, then calming, relaxing and rejuvenating are perfect words to use!

When we decided to do Aliyah people asked us, “so where you moving to?” And our prompt reply was “Ïsrael”, YESSSSSS, But where in Israel??? “Right!” Our mission to discover Israel began. Exactly a year ago we did our maiden journey to discover Israel as less of tourists and more of people with a mission to find their new home! To be honest, it was an easier task than we expected! We drove through Israel and within 5 days had zig zagged our way through, not stopping for sites just getting a feel of areas, seeing the sights through the windows of the car with sandwich at hand and bottled water to keep the hydration.

We chose Kefar Saba almost immediately, something drew us to this little area that’s filled with a mix of Olim from all over the world. Its quiet, clean and very very green. The moment we walked in it said “WELCOME HOME“.

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees! Look around, from every window of my apartment I see trees.

Now that the Pesach Holidays are over and it’s back to the hustle and bustle of routine, I am happy to say that we are in the right place surrounded by trees. I am older and wiser, I have learnt to give things a try and while writing this I fantasize about that spoonful of Charoset and realise, cinnamon ain’t that bad, maybe in a few posts time I will be a full blown cinnamon eater and will tell you all about it’s healing attributes! But for now, I breath it all in and say thank you for my life!